Apron



K. BEEDE March 18, 1941.

APRON Filed July 25, 1939 v snveni'or lfizilzl (12.. 56%

came/@071),

Patented Mar. 18, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT" OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to aprons for personal wear, and more particularly to womens aprons of the sleeveless type embodying a back construction depending from either shoulder straps or a yoke, and tie members connected to the side edges of the apron for cooperation with the back construction in securing the garment in' proper positionuponthe body of the wearer.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an apron of this general character'which is not only relatively inexpensive to manufacture and economical in the amount of material used, but is also easily donned and removed, neat and attractive in appearance, and capable of being worn by and properly fitted to persons of different heights and sizes.

The invention is particularly directed to the structure of the back of the apron and the means by which it issecured in place upon the wearers person. A further object is therefore to provide a new and improved apron back adapted to cooperate in a novel manner with the tie members so as to adjust and fit the apron to the body of the wearer.

Another object is to provide an apron of utmost simplicity which, in spite of the absence of such devices as back panels and multiple tie member receiving openings, is still capable of adjustment and proper fit to persons of various statures.

These and other objects will appear more fully upon a. consideration of the several specific forms of apron back which have been described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, although it is to be expressly understood that this drawing is for the purpose of illustration only and is not to be construed as defining the limits of the invention, reference being had to the appended claims for this latter purpose.

In the drawing, wherein like reference numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views:

Fig. 1 is a back view of one form of apron embodying the invention wherein the apron back consists of two members which are .continuatio-ns of the shoulder straps and are joined together at their lower ends in the form of a V;

Fig. 2 is a view of the V-shaped back of the apron of Fig. 1 detached from the rest of the apron;

Figs. 3 and 4 are views corresponding to Figs. 1 and 2 of a modification of the construction shown in the latter figures;

Figs. 5 and 6 are similar views of a further modification wherein the back is formed in one piece; and

Fig. 7- is' a view of another back of integral construction detached from the rest of'the apron andindicatin'gamodified way of handling the tie members; 1

Referring first to Fig; 1, the apron shown therein consists essentially of a body portion H adapted to cover parts of the front and sides of the wearer, a pair of shoulder straps l2 each attached at one end to the upper edge-of the body portion Hi, a pair of relatively narrow back members H! of substantially the same width as the shoulder straps l2 which may either be attachedat their upper ends to said shoulder straps or form integral continuations of the latter, and which-meet and are suitably secured together at their lower ends adjacent the waistline as indicated at 14' to form a V-shaped back for the apron, and a pair oftie members l5 attached to the side edges of the body portion I I at about the waistline. The apron comprises no other elements than these, all of which are made of a suitablefabric material, the absence of additional devices such as bound openings, cloth loops, metallic rings and eyelets, etc., decreasing both the initial cost of manufacture and the expense of maintaining the apron in serviceable condition.

In donning and adjusting the apron, it is only necessary to insert the head between the shoulder straps l2 and back members I3, properly po-, sition the front of the apron on the body of the wearer by pulling down or letting up on the junction of the back members I 3, and then secure the apronin place by passing the tie members l5 through the space between the lower ends of the back members l3 in the manner shown in Fig. 1, each tie member passing over the back member 13 adjacent its side edge of the apron and under the other, and then tying or otherwise securing the free ends of the tie members together, as by forming a bow overlying the connected lower ends of the back members I3. The absolute simplicity of this arrangement, requiring noneof the more complicated constructions heretofore deemed necessary in an adjustable apron, is its most importantfeature.

The construction of Figs. 3 and 4' is the same as that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 with the addition of a strap member [8 which joins the back members I3 at points slightly above the junction of the lower ends thereof so as to reinforce the same and maintain them in proper V relation and also provide a generally triangular shaped opening [9 of established size and position through which the tie members l5 may be passed is clearly indicated in Fig. 7.

in adjusting and securing the apron in place upon the body of the wearer.

The modification illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 difiers from that of Figs. 1 and 2 only in that the V-shaped back of the apron consists of an integral back member l6 which may be formed so as to provide a curved, rather than sharp, lower end for the back, as indicated at I! in Fig. 6.

In the embodiment of Fig. 7, the V-shaped back member 28 is formed integrally with the shoulder straps 12 the lower ends of which are adapted to be suitably secured to the body portion of the apron (not shown), the integral eletudinal center line and having its edges secured together in any desired manner, as by stitching 2|. In this embodiment, it will benoted that j the vertex of the V-shaped back member 29 is formed by folding the member upon itself so as to maintain the stitched edge thereof at the sam relative side of the combined back and shoulder strap member'throughout its length, as This construction forms a sort of sling to receive the tie members l5, fragments of which are shown in the drawing, both of these members passing under and over the same portions of the back member 2%! in substantially parallel relation, as distinguished from the reversed over and under construction illustrated in Figs. 1, 3 and 5. This modified manner of handling the tie members produces a neater connection between them when a back of the construction illustrated in Fig, 7 is utilized, although it will be appreciated that they may also be handled in the same manner as in the other constructions illustrated, and vice versa.

There is thus provided by the present invention an apron of new and exceedingly simple construction which is comparatively cheap to manufacture as to both material and labor costs, and is also easily laundered without requiring the least attention to disassembly of its parts. Although this construction completely eliminates all tie member receiving openings and the like which would require additional material or extra labor for their formation, it is at the same time readily adjustable to persons of diiferent sizes without detracting from its smooth-fitting qualities.

. These and other features which will be apparent from the foregoing description render the garment of the presentinvention especially well adapted for use in factories, hospitals, hotels and other institutions where aprons are used in large quantities by persons of various sizes, and

Where a neat and attractive appearance is rethe exact size and shape of the back construction maybe varied within limits, while still preserving the essential simplicity of construction by which the invention is characterized. It will also be recognized that the aprons may be made up in various shapes, colors and styles, from various materials and goods, and with or withoutornamenta1 features and finish which it is unnecessary to show in the drawing. Various other changes, which will now appear obvious to those skilled'in the art, may be made in the form, details of construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention. Reference is therefore to be had to the appended claims for a definition of the limits of the invention.

What is claimed is:

- 1. An apron comprising a body portion freely adjustable vertically on the body of the wearer, tie members secured to the side edges of said body portion adjacent the waistline, and a substantially V-shaped back so connected to the body portion as to enable a vertical adjustment of the latter on the body of the wearer by raising or lowering the lower end of the V-shaped back, said back consisting of a pair of relatively narrowfabric members operatively connected at their upper ends with the body portion of the apron and having their lower ends cut on a bias anclsecured together in abutting relation to form the vertex of the V, the space adjacent said vertex bounded by the upwardly diverging fabric members forming an opening through which the tie members are adapted to be passed in adjusting and securing the apron in place upon the body of the wearer,

- 2. An apron comprising a body portion freely adjustable vertically on the body of the wearer, ti members secured to the side edges of said body portion adjacent the waistline, and a substantially V-shaped back so connected to the body portion as to enable a vertical adjustment of the latter on the body of the wearer by raising or lowering the lower end of the V-shaped back, said back consisting of a pair of relatively narrow fabric members operatively connected at their upper ends with the body portion of the apron and secured together at their lower ends to form the vertex of the V, and a strap connecting said'two members at points above the vertex so as to form an enclosed substantially triangular shaped opening through which the tie members may be. passed in adjusting andsecuring the apron inplace upon the body of the wearer.

3. A back foran apron of the sleeveless type embodying tie members secured to the apron side edges consisting of a V-shaped member operatively secured 'to the remainder of the apron adjacent the shoulders of the wearer and a strap connecting the diverging sides of said member at points above the vertex of the V so as to form an opening adjacent said vertex bounded by said strap and the diverging sides of said member through which the tie members of the apron are adapted to be passed in adjusting and securing the apron in place upon the body of the wearer.

. KATHLEEN BEEDE. 

